South Carolina, Clemson alter plans
After several days of monitoring the approaching storm, the biggest schools in South Carolina had little choice but to alter football games due to Hurricane Florence. South Carolina on Wednesday canceled its game with Marshall that was scheduled for Saturday night. University officials announced the decision just hours after coach Will Muschamp sounded confident the teams would play.
Second-ranked Clemson pushed up the start time of its game at home against Georgia Southern, with the kickoff now taking place at noon instead of 3:30 p.m. EST.
“Whether or not the game could have been played, we made the decision we think is best for the state and those who are evacuating the coast,” South Carolina athletic director Ray Tanner said. “There is no question this is the right thing to do.”
As of Tuesday, about 1.7 million people in North and South Carolina and Virginia were under warnings to evacuate the coast, and hurricane watches and warnings extended across an area with about 5.4 million residents.
South Carolina will look to add a 12th game to its schedule later this season.
Clemson officials cited the “uncertainty” of Florence’s track. On Tuesday, officials felt hopeful of forecasts that had the storm turning slightly north. By Wednesday, though, the dangerous, Category 4 monster had turned slightly southward with some projections saying it will settle over the Palmetto State.
Florence’s track had other teams in the Carolinas and Virginia changing plans.
Appalachian State canceled its home game with Southern Miss. Charlotte moved its scheduled home game in North Carolina against Old Dominion from Saturday to tonight to beat Florence’s arrival.
East Carolina began relocating its football team to Orlando by bus on Wednesday. ECU said the move will make it easier to deal with logistics for the team’s game next week at South Florida.
ODDS AND ENDS
Golf: The Evian Championship will bid farewell to September, and hopefully its bad weather, when the final women’s golf major of the season starts today in France. It’s the final edition of Evian before it reverts to its former July slot in 2019, a move players hope will avoid more weather-hit days like last year’s opening round — which was wiped out by a severe storm. However, rain and possible thunderstorms are forecast for the first round at the picturesque hillside course overlooking Lake Geneva, after Wednesday’s final practice was held in sunshine and 83-degree heat.
NHL: The Columbus Blue Jackets have given coach John Tortorella a two-year contract extension. The team announced Wednesday that Tortorella, who has led the Blue Jackets to the playoffs in his first two full seasons, has been signed through the 2020-21 season. Financial terms weren’t disclosed. The 60-year-old Tortorella is the franchise’s all-time leader in wins, guiding Columbus to a 129-87-23 record since being named coach in October 2015. His current $2 million-a-year contract runs through this season.
Cycling: Simon Yates lost a few seconds of his Spanish Vuelta lead, while Michael Woods of Canada earned an emotional victory on a difficult mountain stage. Woods outlasted the field in a 157-kilometer (97.5-mile) 17th stage that finished with a tough climb in Basque Country, and then dedicated the win to his stillborn son, who died this year when his wife was 37 weeks pregnant. The Canadian rider crossed the line five seconds in front of Dylan Teuns and 10 seconds ahead of David de la Cruz.